Fantasy Skyheart (1 slot open)

[AncientBird]

The wonder of the bazaar was even greater than the rumors. Serik watched with awe as he and his friends walked through the street, passing many shops and stalls that line both sides. There were so many things that so alluring Serik had to force himself to keep walking, after all he had to get the suitable outfit that Ferro's husband promised them first, then he could come back to browse...

Arriving at the tailor shop, Kari gave the owner the scroll from Ferro's husband. They were soon allowed to pick any attire they want in the shop. It was that moment that Serik suddenly felt overwhelmed by the numbers of cloths and decorations in the shop, they were indeed beautiful and very well made, but at the same time, Serik had no idea what he wants. He had never been good at picking what to wear and most cloths back home was made by his mother. His eyes took a glimpse of a poster hanging by the wall, filling with examples of Westerosian fashion. He took a closer look at it and decided to use it as a guide. Picking piece by piece, he finally got everything he assumed to make him looked like the model drawn in the poster. Serik took his cloths and headed to the changing stall. On the way, Kari, Aldaf and Gerel had already finished changing and were in the attire they picked. "Wow, you three look really nice on them." He said with a smile.

Finally, Serik was done with his new outfit. He turned around, looking at himself in the mirror. It really resembled the picture he took as the guide, so that would mean he's good to go, right? Serik then stepped out of the stall with his new cloths. "Errr... How do I look?" He asked his friends for their opinion, face reddened a bit to his uncertainty.

Spoiler: Serik's Westerosian outfit

(Exactly like this, except without the side pockets and replacing the guy with Serik's face.)

Featuring: SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Lioness075 kase9187

 

[explosiveKitten]

When they finally found the clothes shop, Katja was looking less than okay. She was sweaty, tired, and overheated

But she was excited. SO excited. She had gotten the address to her family’s home! She just had to find the place now! How she was going to do that, she had no idea. But this was how it had to be. She was going to meet her family. She was here, in Westeros! Of course she had to!

While everyone spread out and looked through the selection of things. Oh, but how hard it was to concentrate. She was only looking at things with an unfocused gaze.

When she finally snapped back to reality, she found herself running her hands over some silky yellow fabric, and when she looked further at it, she blinked and shrugged, then picked up the outfit and wandered into the changing area. She gladly shed the furs and sat panting in there for a moment, trying to wipe the sweat off. While she was squirming to get into the new clothes, her mind was racing and she’s was praying that she wasn’t smelly. Normally her sweat didn’t smell, but who knows? Carefully, she took her hair and pulled it all up, off the back of her neck and wove it all into a complex Northarian braid, before she swung what was there over her shoulder.

When she pulled the curtain away, she looked at everyone else with her hands self-consciously wrapped around her half-exposed midriff, as if trying to hide it.

“You look great, Serik.” She said cheerily, trying not to appear too self-conscious with her constant shuffling to cover as much skin as possible.

Spoiler: Katja’s new outfit.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075 kase9187

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf nodded as everyone traded compliments on their clothing choices, noting that Katja seemed a bit embarrassed. He moved closer to her, talking quietly.

"You okay, Katja? You seem a bit... embarrassed." Aldaf spoke softly, as to not attract attention. After all, it seemed like the least thing Katja wanted right now.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Naberius explosiveKitten Elenion Aura AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro Saturn_moon Lioness075

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke wasn’t sure on how to react to a situation like this, he expected the outcome to be very different from it. Zeke was planning on just telling Kari his piece and leaving her to dwell on it… Apparently, that’s not how conversations are meant to go down in Zeke’s eyes. So, he stayed and listened to Kari with a straight face. He could feel his mind blanking as she continued to speak, as her words entered his ear and exited right out of his other ear. That was until he felt a finger jab his chest and he finally looked down to see Kari’s fingers, that was when he started to truly listen to her words. He felt his fist tighten with guilt as she mentioned the people that fell victim to his sharp words and aggressive attitude. Zeke finally sighed in relief as she ended her words with a light-hearted joke.

“I’m planning on going with the lot of you anyways.” Zeke crossed his arms and raised one of his fine eyebrows. “The headmaster would be disappointed in me if even one of you gets lost. He seems to be fixed in finding Danubey and he also needs our involvement in the case.” He looked to his side. “So if one of you screws up, then I also screw up.” Zeke gave out another tired sigh before slowly turning his back to Kari. “And besides, don’t feel privileged yet, just because I apologized to you. You just happened to be in the right place at the right moment.” Zeke looked over his shoulder and gave her a smirk, but his eyes held a bit of gentleness in them. “I’ll try and make it up, Goggles.”

III✦III

As Zeke was walking through the streets of To’Bai, some recognized his face and he made an attempt to cover his face by using his mother’s scarf as a hood. Zeke just doesn’t want some certain people to know that he’s back. After he pulled his hood up, he finally relaxed and reminisced about the very streets that he used to run and walk through. Zeke knew every inch of the city, especially when he used to climb on these rooftops as an escape route. It was Zeke’s playground, to say the least, and it sure did change as a year flew by without him noticing. He wondered if his old blacksmith friend is still alive and well, or any of past companions for that matter. Zeke was a very conservative person and kept his friend list to a bare minimum, and he likes it that way.

Zeke watched the funny expressions that the rest of the gang made as he just realized that they were just foreigners in this land of his. Zeke felt privileged to have such a lucky fate. Zeke felt happy, but he didn't show it, his face remained stoic as the group trudged on. Zeke took a peak over Kari’s shoulders to see a scroll and Zeke raised an eyebrow at this. He was certainly curious about what the scroll was for. Was it from my library? Those were Zeke’s initial thoughts, but quickly brushed it off when he found that the warmth Stitt was providing on top of his shoulder, was suddenly gone. Stitt flew forward and she seems to be reminiscing her old memories as well. Zeke whistled and that caught Stitt’s attention. She soon settled herself back to his shoulder and observed her surroundings from there.

Once they’ve arrived at the store, Zeke carefully watches as Kari presents a scroll to a lady. He was surprised once the lady told them to pick any clothing they’d like. Zeke went to the closest clothing rack and examined the fabric. It was certainly a fine fabric, but the design patterns were too basic for Zeke’s liking.

“My mother could do better.” He silently murmured to himself as he felt a gust of wind on his shoulder. He felt his shoulder lighten as Stitt’s weight was finally gone. Stitt flew somewhere as Zeke only continued to examine his options. Zeke was soon presented with a lovely looking hair tie and also a piece of clothing by none other than Stitt herself. The piece of fabric was a sleeveless top with some yellow lining that would perfectly go well with his beige scarf. “Where did you get this?” he asked as the creature led him to a clothing rack filled with outfits that were in different shades of purple. As he searched the rack, he heard a nearby ruckus and eavesdropped. It seems like Serik, Kari, Gerel, Katja, and Aldaf have chosen their outfits.

Zeke finally found the perfect shade of the pants to go well with his top. As he reached for it, he noticed how his arm sleeves were torn and a bit of his white Westerosian tattoo was showing. His eyes widened as his eyes began to water. Zeke quickly covered his tattoo with his other hand as he began to stabilize his breathing. Zeke loved his father into bits, but there was still that part of him that still loathes him for what he has done. And the mere sight of his tattoo that was similar to his father simply brought back unwanted tears to his eyes. He has always worn arm sleeves for that exact reason.

Zeke looked at Stitt with a stoic face and nodded his head towards a pair of purple arm sleeves. Zeke gathered the articles of clothing and raced towards the changing room. He took a breath before putting his new clothes on and throwing off his worn-out arm sleeve. Stitt assisted him with putting his arm sleeves on as her beak carried the hair tie she found earlier. He still kept his golden rings and armbands on as it was one of his favourite accessories. Zeke also took off his worn-out hair tie and let his silky hair flow freely for the very first time. Zeke was glad he did as he felt pieces of his silky hair brush his cheeks. He reached over to Stitt’s beak as he gathered all his hair. Zeke was tying his hair as he exited the changing room, Stitt hovering just above him.

He looked over to Aldaf, who was chatting with Katja and he wondered if now would be a good time to strike up a conversation, but he only looked at Stitt as she gave him an encouraging chirp. Zeke sighed and went over to the entrance of the shop after he has gathered his old clothes and stuffed them into his bag. “Surely, these guys will be fine by themselves, right?” He asked the pocket gryphon only to have a high-pitched chirp in return. Stitt disagreed and Zeke could only look back at her with disapproval. “Fine. I’ll just stay with them, then.” Zeke went back to silently brood in the corner as Stitt only gave him a worried look.

Spoiler: Zeke's New Outfit

((The hair tie was also shown in the picture. Just don't mind the braids, the shoulder tattoos and just imagine Zeke's face in it))

SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka felt both overwhelmed and thrilled by the sights and sounds that surrounded them as the group slowly navigated through the maze of stalls that made up To’bai’s main bazaar. Despite being a weekday, the place was still drowning in a sea of people and there was barely any empty space in sight. A woman bouncing a wailing baby on her hip, an elderly man grumbling angrily at a group of children as they ran down the street laughing, merchants shouting out their wares at the top of their voices to attract customers and customers desperately bargaining for the best possible prices.

The sun shone mercilessly down upon them and the salty odour of sweat mingled with the nose tingling aroma of spices which laid in tall, deep red or dusty yellow piles and the sweet smell of flowers coming from the flower shop among others. All these smells mixed together giving the market a rather unique scent which hung thickly in the air.

There was however a downside to this experience which was that Marylka found herself continuously getting bumped around by people who hadn’t notice her tiny stature passing by in front of them. Several times, she got separated from the group, her path blocked by strangers cutting through, and had to search the crowd for Matthias’s towering frame to relocate them. When they finally stepped inside the clothing store Ferro’s husband had sent them to, it was like emerging from deep waters for a breath of fresh air.

After all they’d been through it felt a little strange to be doing something as frivolous as shopping. Still, the sight of colourful fabrics intrigued Marylka and in the back of her mind she knew that if she really wanted to fit in in her new home, she should at least start by trying to look the part. One by one they each found outfits that suited them quite nicely. Unfortunately, it seemed like Westerosi women had a preference for showing off quite a bit of skin, as evident from the outfit options available on the racks, and she wasn’t too comfortable with that. She was about to consider sticking a pillow case over herself and calling it a day when her eyes settled on a rust red tunic trimmed with gold stuffed in the middle of the rack she was browsing. It even had a matching black underlay and pants that would help keep her pale skin from burning up.

It took her awhile to figure out what to do with the sash but when she was done, she looked in the mirror and was genuinely surprised when she found that she actually really liked what she saw. I guess this is it then. As she stepped out in her new outfit, she noticed Zeke brooding in the corner of the store with Stitt. The boy was an enigma to her and she was often torn between wanting to stuff dirty socks in his mouth and patting him on the back in comfort. She did have to admit that since returning to Westeros, he had soften up a little more. In addition, all the instructors at the academy seemed to like him which could only mean that he wasn’t the absolute asshole he’d been portraying himself to be.

Emboldened by the confidence from her new clothes she walked up to boy and poked him in the arm. “So, from one Westerosi to another, will I fit in in these?”

Spoiler: Marylka's Westeros Outfit

((Without the sword and the necklace))

SilverFlight Naberius SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[Naberius]

Caliban Lupei

The morning flew by in a flash, breakfast was absolutely phenomenal and spirits were high. The time had finally come to make their way out into their city surrounding the academy. Caliban was practically bouncing on his heels as he met the others at the gates. Looking around at the assembled group, he smiled even brighter than usual.

"Hehehe! This is going to be great!"

As they made their way to the markets, he was blindsided by the sheer amount of stalls and people hawking their wares. Like a child in a candy store, he bounced from one to another, trying to take everything in. The colors, sights, sounds and smells were almost too much. Lea, mostly used to his mild idiocy, grabbed him by his arm to pull him along after the others before he managed to spend what bit of money he had on him buying random trinkets and nonsense.

When they arrived at the tailor, Caliban took his time going from rack to rack, isle to isle, amazed at all the different colors and textures on display. He was pretty sure what he wanted, but just in case he kept looking around. A few of the others began to emerge from the dressing rooms, and each time he smiled and gave a thumbs up, showing his support. However, when Katja came out sporting her new attire, the smile dropped, replaced by a strange, possibly affectionate stare.

She's...beautiful...

Shaking his head to snap him back to reality, he realized he had been staring for just a few moments longer than he probably should have, but immediately started smiling again.

"You look great."

Finally it was his turn to step into the changing room. He had decided to stick with the original idea he had, it looked nice and he enjoyed the color. Plus, it seemed like it would have plenty of room in case he decided to have some extra pockets added to it to carry his trapping supplies.

Spoiler: Caliban's New Clothes

(like that but minus the scarf and head cover, and with actual short sleeves, not sleeveless)


SilverFlight Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke felt someone poking his arm and Zeke could only look behind him and be greeted at the sight of Marylka in her Westerosi outfit. She inquired Zeke about her outfit and Zeke soon obliged with her request and analyzed her choice of clothing. He gotta admit, she looks rather odd with the colour red, he thinks Kari or Leandra would suit that colour best, Marylka however, she would suit any shade of blue, preferably lapis blue.

"You already fit it well. If you're looking for the approval of our people, then don't bother, they honestly couldn't care less about what you wear as long as you honour our values and stand proud as a fellow Westerosian." Stitt hovered in front of Marylka and headbutted her cheek as if asking for a pet. "By the way, if you want my opinion about your outfit, the colour red doesn't really suit you. If I were you I'd change into a much cooler shade, black absorbs heat, so I recommend wearing something a bit of a lighter shade." He said as he eyed her black sleeves, along with any of his companions wearing some bits of black in them. Zeke was used to the heat and could wear almost whatever he wants and he would still be fine. He has been living in this land ever since he was a baby, he has always been a Westerosi through and through. Zeke then raised his hands in defense and smirked knowingly, as sarcasm dripped from his voice, not with any hidden hatred, but with a hint of mischievousness in them. "But hey, who am I to give advice, right? It's not like I've been living in this land for the past eighteen years of my life, am I right?"

Saturn_moon

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka was caught by surprise when Stitt flew up and bumped her on the cheek. She gave the little gryphon a small smile and lightly scratched the top of its head. However, the moment she turned back to Zeke, all traces of friendliness left her face. "Values? And what might those be?" She asked with incredulity. "I'm guessing empathy and teamwork isn't on that list." Her tone was pointed and an obvious jab at his behavior towards them since the day they've met. She internally let out an exasperated sigh as she realized that this conversation was going to be far more challenging than she had originally anticipated.

He then made a comment about the color choice of her outfit and she looked down at the blue Estendorian tunic that she'd worn for the longest time folded in her hands. If red didn't suit her did blue then? Blue was calm, steady, trusting while red was confident, passionate, determined. Was that why it didn't suit her? Because she was none of those? The two colors were worlds apart... Like she was here in Westeros. But she wasn't the same girl from Estendor from a year ago and she'd decided she didn't want to be. "Thanks for the feedback, but I think I'll stick with the red. You'll just have to get used to it." She looked Zeke firmly in the eyes as she said this.

"Who am I to give advice, right? It's not like I've been living in this land for the past eighteen years of my life, am I right?" While the sarcasm in his voice carried no viciousness it still didn't stop it from being impossibly aggravating and Marylka needed to take a deep breath to steady her voice before speaking. "It's going to take more than just experience for someone to want to listen to your advice. You need their trust as well and unfortunately, you haven't earned that yet."

SleepyCreamy

 

[AncientBird]

“Thank you, Katja. Your new outfit is great too.” Serik replied to girl and smiled at her.

It was quite a surprise for him that Katja would be the first one to come up and commented on his outfit. Both of them hadn’t had much conversation other than during the time of need when Serik got injured or when he was helping Katja out at tending the others.

As Aldaf came and pulled away Katja’s attention, Serik looked around, curious to see if any others had gotten their new cloths. He saw Caliban in his new outfit, blue and grey with a hood on, really contradicted to his old outfit, which Serik would understand. Everyone was trying their best to conceal their skin from the scorching sun of the west here.

“Nice outfit, Caliban! You looks much more mysterious now.” Serik said, teasing at his hood.

Serik then looked around to see if anyone else got their new look to show. His eyes then caught sight of Marylka... In her new outfit.

Serik stopped in his track. Marylka, this time wearing a much leaner and more athletic outfit, red and black, striking like a proud songbird posing in the open field.

Her new look reminded Serik of something... Someone... It was his grandmother! Munira Tagaev during her proud youth as she traveled the whole Estendor. Serik swore his grandmother had a painting of her during that time, wearing something similar to this. Serik often looked at it and memorized that proud and confident face. Her hand held Sharptooth, the family prized scimitar and next to her was his younger grandfather, stoic and cold like the north wind, the contrast that balanced out his later to be wife.

Serik walked toward the girl. “Oh wow, Marylka! You look so adventurous now. I really like it!” He said cheerfully but then noticed Ezekiel standing there, facing Marylka like they were just having a conversation, a not so friendly conversation...

Both of them seemed serious. Serik’s joy started to fade from his face as he realized what he just stumbled into.

“Oh sorry for interruption, I didn’t see you two were talking...” Serik said, feeling small as he met with the two’ mighty glare.

Featuring: explosiveKitten kase9187 Naberius Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy

 

[SleepyCreamy]

As he listened to Marylka speak about his clan's values, he couldn't help but feel responsible for invoking such a reaction from her. During his time on Mount Arebos, he acted so selfishly that he didn't realize how badly he must've represented his clan. But he also sees the reason behind his actions, he simply forgot what compassion and kindness are. He was too driven to survive, that he even lost some moral values along his journey of redeeming his father's name. However, Marylka and the others don't need to know that, maybe in due time, but he honestly can't imagine himself opening up anytime soon. Some were an exception since he acted out of pity and his emotions drove him to tell those people, especially last night when he was talking to Caliban. When he heard of his past, Zeke realized that he could've been easily swayed into the path of goodness when he was young, instead of being hopeful, he became spiteful. And these are the consequences of his actions.

Zeke responded with a nod. "Fair enough." He then paused and looked at Marylka with his sharp yellow eyes.
"But may I ask this one question? Why did you ask for my opinion in the first place, if you're just going to be salty about my words? You asked me if your clothes would 'fit in', and that was confusing enough for my part, so I gave you two alternative answers and hoped it would suffice." He held a finger up. "First, I thought you were talking about how well the fabric fits in well with your figure, so I told you the obvious and said 'you fit it well'." He slowly drew a finger up, making a scissor movement with his two fingers, referring that he's approaching his second point. "Second, I told you the people wouldn't care what you wear, because when you said 'fit in' I thought you were referring to the clan acceptance in your clothing of choice. Believe me, when I say, those people don't care. They just don't." His voice held a little bit of edge in them as his tone held a little bit of resentment.

They didn't care when I was literally begging them for food, so why should they care about what you wore? Zeke thought to himself. Well, maybe they do, when you dress fancy?

"Trust? I'm sorry, Braids, but if you want to get around the town efficiently, you'd have to give me a little bit of your 'trust' in here. Personally, I would love to see my family soon, but here I am, assisting the lot of you as much as I can. I figured I should at least assist you guys in case one of you gets lost, the headmaster thinks we hold the key into finding Danubey's whereabouts and it seems like he's very bothered by it." He spoke nothing but calmness. There was a glint of worry in his eyes. However, he soon shook his head and looked back at Marylka with a blank face, it was neither hostile or welcoming. "It seems like I might need your 'trust' if we were to continue forward, so you may ask me anything about the academy, the clan, anything really. You're a mage yourself, surely the thought of going to the academy must've crossed your mind before your memories were taken awa---"

Before he could finish his sentence, Serik walked towards them and interrupted his sentence. “Oh sorry for the interruption, I didn’t see you two were talking...”

Zeke was suddenly struck with an idea. "Actually, Dimples. Feel free to stay. Aren't you curious about how the staff of the academy seems to know me? You guys are bound to know anyway." He looked back at Marylka and waited for her to say something before he could continue. It may just be the thing that could earn him Marylka's trust.

Zeke thought it may just be a good idea to let these guys know how much the headmaster and the opportunities he gave him were of importance to him. It's about time they knew of what he truly is. And if Marylka was looking for trust, then Zeke wouldn't mind opening up about his occupation as the academy's librarian, however, anything deeper than that (like his exile, or his father's mistake), Zeke will most likely keep those locked up in his chest until he thinks they're ready.

Saturn_moon AncientBird ((@anyonewho wishes to eavesdrop or wants to join in with listening on how Zeke became the school's librarian.))

Zeke's Text Colour: #cf6713

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf sighed.
"If you want, we can probably find a shirt to go underneath everything. A thin one."

"...Staff seem to know me? You guys are bound to know anyways."

Aldaf pat Katja's shoulder in a reassuring manner before discreetly making his way over to Zeke, wanting to hear what he had to say.

SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon Naberius YumenoTsukishiro SilverFlight Elenion Aura Lioness075 AncientBird explosiveKitten

 

[Saturn_moon]

As Zeke spoke Marylka struggled to maintain her composure. From what she could tell, Zeke was far from stupid. She would even count him among the highly intelligent. Yet, for someone with a world of knowledge, his ability to read people and understand emotions was absolutely dismal. "I asked for your opinion because I saw you standing alone in the corner and I thought you could use a friend." She snapped. "And because I thought that you, being Westerosi, would be the one person who would be able to offer proper words of encouragement to someone who feels like a complete fish out water here. Obviously, I was wrong on both fronts and you have some serious deep seated issues with your own people that you need to address."

Anger and biting words were so unlike her but Zeke had found a way to get under her skin and once the words started flowing out her mouth she found it hard to stop them. "You think you're so important, that you're doing us this incredible favor by showing us around, but you know what? I would rather spend hours being lost if it means I didn't have to put up with your obnoxious attitude."

Marylka spun around when she heard someone approach but her expression immediately softened when she saw that it was only Serik, who unfortunately realized he'd just walked into a rather awkward situation and now looked very much like a deer caught in the lamplight. "You aren't interrupting anything." Her words were directed at Serik but her glare remained fixed on Zeke. "Our conversation is over." She turned on her heel and walked out of the store. As curious as she was about Zeke's role at the academy, she didn't think she was in the right state of mind to process anything he said at that moment and it was probably better for everyone if she calmed down first. She wasn't so crazy as to wander off into an unknown city on her own though, she only needed to get out of the room. Once she'd passed the curtained entrance, she slumped against the wall of the building and let out a tired sigh. She was going to have to apologise to Zeke at some point for the outburst but for the moment, she let the cacophony of sounds from the busy market drown out her thoughts.

SleepyCreamy AncientBird

 

[AncientBird]

Serik watched as Marylka stormed out of the shop. He looked back at Ezekiel. He wasn’t angry or anything... He couldn’t be angry at the matter he barely knew anything about, but he was sure that what just happened came from the same problem that had been brought by this very same Westerosian man... Lack of proper communication and the showing of compassion... At least that was what Serik observed whenever something stirred up between Ezekiel and somebody.

He thought day by day, Ezekiel was changing. He saw him coming out to his teammates more and more, even helping when he could, yet he still managed to dampen down the relationship in the group again... And this time it had to be Marylka. His face didn’t show sign of anger, but disappointment and a bit of sadness.

“I... I will go after her...” He said and turned back. Serik paused for a while.

“Nice purple outfit, by the way.” He said to Ezekiel behind him.

Serik came out of the store entrance. He was about to call for Marylka until he noticed she was just right next to the shop, leaning against the wall as the people passing by.

Serik approached. He wanted to say something but by the look of her face... She probably need sometimes alone. However, Serik didn’t want to leave her out here by herself either, so he leaned against the wall not so far from her and sighed, letting her know he was there.

Serik stood there with the sun shone into his head which now bore a large turban. He would blend in pretty well against people that walked around here... Yet, this time was different... Something made him more familiar... More recognizable...

...And without knowing... He was being watched...

Featuring: Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Hot winds. Sandy air. Talon didn't like it, but it was here that her partner went, so it was here that she must endure. Above the marketplace she circled, gazing down on the people milling about like the sheep her woolly-headed partner loved to herd. Yesterday she feasted on an abundance of rats and some tiny morsels she couldn't quite place, and today she scanned through the many stalls with her meals openly in display. Her dense-as-a-rock partner would disapprove of grabbing food she didn't hunt herself, and she agreed. But where else could she hunt? Beyond the walls of this place was sand, sand, and more sand. Not unlike the open plains that her mouth running partner called home, where the hunt roamed and grazed aplenty just waiting to be plucked by her... talons.

She stayed close to the place her idiotic partner went into, so she saw when that furry (not so furry anymore) woman came out looking like an ewe giving out after a hard day's grazing. These were usually the ones she helped herself to, but this one was one of her infuriating partner's friends. She was off limits. But she was... sad, like Gerel before they went to this sandy place. As she always did for his helpless partner she flew down to the woman, landing softly to her left so as not to startle her. Talon realized she unnerved most humans because of her size, so she stepped slowly, cooing as she approached. Then she bumped her head against the woman's leg. This usually helped calm other people down (except perhaps that owl woman, who made Talon incredibly curious), and the woman looked like she needed calming.

Talon knew her, yes, like she knew that fire woman his hopeless partner seemed so fond of. She also knew the boy who came out of the store, another friend of his deadpan partner. She squawked in greeting, right before she felt the gaze of something on them all. She looked around, trying to see where the gaze was coming from. With a loud screech she took to the skies, hoping that the two other humans would take the hint.

Featuring: Saturn_moon AncientBird

~~~~~

Gerel heard everything that passed between Ezekiel and Marylka, right up until the girl stepped out of the store in a storm. He remembered past grievances put aside for the sake of a greater purpose, but seeing as they were only clothes shopping at the moment it felt right to dredge up all grudges. "While I'm admittedly interested in your history and your familiarity with the Academy staff, I see Marylka's point," Gerel said, stepping close to Ezekiel and pointedly ignoring Aldaf. For some reason, the boy was fond of the bronze-skinned goat that kept raising Gerel's hackles. Not this time. After everything that happened between them, Ezekiel still insisted on provoking everyone to the point of anger. "Trust is important, and it's difficult to give trust to someone who spoke like he stood atop a pedestal. She asked you simple questions, and you saw fit to answer as if you were talking to a child. You ask us to trust you, yet you seem to forget that trust goes both ways. Perhaps you should give a little trust to the rest of us before you go about acting like that.

"If you had," Gerel's eyes flashed like bright emeralds, "then maybe you wouldn't have run off like you did back then."

He didn't have to go into specifics. All their companions would remember that fateful fight with the death wyvern. He also wasn't being fair, but he didn't care. Anger was an emotion he rarely wore, and now he was struggling to keep it from boiling over.

Featuring: SleepyCreamy SilverFlight

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf listened to what everyone was saying about Zeke and felt a little bit of something inside him crumple. Zeke had been fucked over by most everyone his whole life, and knew nothing but betrayal. And here everyone was, taking shots at him.

Yet he felt conflicted. Zeke had been a complete ass to most everyone. Aldaf wanted to rip into Zeke so badly for what he kept doing, but kept mentally kicking himself for thinking like that. Zeke had confided in him, no matter how little it was. It almost sickened him to think of using that information against him.

Aldaf pulled out his mother's wyvern carving, rubbing the smooth underside of the wings. The detail had been worn down, mostly through Aldaf rubbing it when he had nothing to carve. He remained silent, not wanting to... interfere.

He felt concern. He took a hand off of the carving to pull out his amulet. He stared at it for a second.

"I'll be fine, Spica. I promise." He whispered. It was so quiet that only someone standing next to him and listening intently would hear him.

SleepyCreamy AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro

 

[Naberius]

Caliban was too caught up in finding the perfect outfit, occasionally star.... Glancing at Katja, and just having a good time. It took too long for him to notice the heated words, the confrontational body language and boiling tempers starting to flare up again near... Zeke, of course... He walked over just as Gerel was saying his piece and as he finished, stepped up between the two.

"Hey now, let's all calm down and take a breather. This isn't the time or place to be acting like children and bickering amongst each other. We're supposed to be getting along, we're a team in this."

He looked back and forth between the two as he spoke, Marylka already having left the building before he made his way to the argument. Things weren't going to be easy going forward, and Zeke wasn't exactly a people person. But he trusted him and his words about trying to make amends with the others. However, it would take a lot of doing for that to happen. He would have to help any way he could before things got out of hand...looking back to Zeke, he fixed him with a small smile.

"Did you forget our conversation from last night already? This isn't the way to go about doing things. Remember what you set out to do."


SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro SilverFlight Elenion Aura Lioness075 AncientBird explosiveKitten

 

[explosiveKitten]

Katja looked even more uncomfortable the more that people noticed her. She really wasn’t sure about all of this.

She glanced at Aldaf when he approached, and she tugged on the outfit even more, “You could tell? I’m just not used to exposing all this... skin.”

She watched when Aldaf wandered off again, nodding at his offer to find something to wear under it. While the emotions were starting to escalate in the shop, she tried her best to ignore it while she flipped through the racks.

“You look great.”

She turned and found Cal staring at her, his eyes misty and clinging to her like she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. This naturally made her face light up bright red.

“Haha! Thanks~ heheheehe...” She said, awkwardly, laughing and waving her hand around because honestly she NO idea how to react to this whole situation. When she looked up tab him, she said back, “The uh... the blue matches your eyes really well...”

It took a moment for what she said to settle in and she squealed once she realized what she had said. “NOT that I’m spending a lot of time staring into your eyes or anything, Nononono, I was just saying it looks great and and and and blue is my favorite color! ... not that that matters...”
An awkward silence fell over her. Her face and neck were bright red.

“.... ANYWAY!” She suddenly stride forward, inserting herself into the situation. “Let’s all just move passed this and do something fun! Like- How about we explore the city!! Doesn’t that sound fun?! We should familiarize ourselves with... the area! Yeah! I had somewhere else I wanted to find anyway! So let’s go!”

SleepyCreamy Saturn_moon kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro SilverFlight Elenion Aura Lioness075 AncientBird Naberius

 

[SilverFlight]

Kari gave a half-smile at Gerel's comment. "Yeah, I guess I'll always look like that." She shrugged and moved her attention on to the others.
She praised every outfit and then, Marylka asked Zeke. Kari bit her lip. He fared about as bad as her worst prediction. She listened to the others. Gerel too had had enough and Kari stood behind him, arms crossed, a look of complete disappointment on her round face. When Gerel had finished, despite Caliban's attempt at placation she simple locked eyes with Zeke, shook her head, and went to follow Marylka.
She thanked the lady gracefully, who simply waved them all off. "One day maybe you will know why I gave you these clothes, for now, simply enjoy them."
Kari nodded, "Come on guys, let's go."

Outside Kari found Marylka and smacked her shoulder playfully,
"Don't worry about that ass." Kari said in a light tone. "He's got a long way to go, but you don't have to cater to him." She noticed Serik standing a little ways away and gave him a curious look.
"Katja wants to explore a little. I think that's a great idea."
She looked out over the busy streets and spread an arm wide.
"Pick a direction."

"Greetings." A smooth voice sounded behind them and Kari turned as the man from the night before appeared, wearing an appeasing smile.
"You are the youths that recently arrived at the academy aren't you? I do apologize for my outburst last night. Things have been...rather taxing recently regarding the city's defenses. My name is Heto Deralis."
Kari gave her name but nothing more.
"I see you are a bit old for students, tell me, why were you summoned to the academy?"

Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Elenion Aura Saturn_moon explosiveKitten

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf followed the rest outside after smothering his pain, happy things were de-escalating. His bag he brought with still rattled as he walked, but was muffled by his new satchel.

"I'd like to find the weaponsmith, I have an idea for a weapon I'd like. Who'd like to come with me?" He spoke to no one in particular.

Heto introduced himself to everyone, and Aldaf had a sense of distrust. This was the man who wanted children to help defend.

"Nice to formally introduce ourselves, Sir Deralis. I'm Aldaf Joshen. And we were summoned over the matter of the Deathborn. As we have experience dealing with them, the headmaster asked for our assistance." He spoke respectfully yet plainly.

Aldaf spoke only to give information that would be generalized or known already, betraying nothing of the Deathborn seemingly hunting them nor their previous enrollment. This man had this aura around him, like he'd abuse any secrets they'd divulge to him.

SilverFlight SleepyCreamy Naberius explosiveKitten Elenion Aura AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro Lioness075 Saturn_moon

 

[Lioness075]

Name: Leandra LaFrae	Nicknames: Lea, Firefly
Clan: Sudenta	Clan Job: Huntress
Equipment: Knapsack, Medicinal Pouch, Bow, Quiver (0/10), Twin Daggers

Spoiler: Momo's Appearance

Spoiler: Falarion's Appearance

Falarion actually has brightly colored wings that have a rainbow hue in bright lighting. In darker settings, they can seem muted into a dark grey or even black color. He also does not have the golden tattoos spanning his body or the necklace around his neck.

Leandra was fairly quiet as they went out to explore the grand Westeros city. She looked around in wide-eyed wonder at the new city life she was now experiencing. She only had so much time to admire the views before Caliban was excitedly rushing stalls and Leandra rolled her eyes before she had to go over and drag him back to the group. Some things never change.

Once they were in the clothing store and left to find their own outfits, Leandra bit her lip and stared at the racks in dismay. She had only ever really worn the one outfit plus a backup, washing them as was needed. The others quickly dispersed and Leandra sighed before diving into the rows of racks. By the time she had picked a few pieces to go together and changed into the outfit, she could hear raised voices near the entrance of the store. It seemed at this point that everyone was either already outside or about to be.

Glancing at her outfit, Leandra held up her left arm and frowned at the lack of a sleeve. She could see her bandages peeking out from underneath her lone leather glove now. Sighing again, she decided against finding a different outfit, as the others did not seem keen on sticking around for too long. She knew better than to be left alone in a new city. With that, Leandra headed to the front of the store and saw Ezekiel to be the source of the trouble. No surprise there.

Spoiler: Leandra's Westeros Outfit - 103/Green

Shaking her head, Leandra slipped outside and saw Kari approaching Marylka, Serik, and Talon. Those three seemed to be hanging out and Leandra finally took the moment to appreciate everyone's new outfits and styles. Remembering how late she was to join everyone, Leandra began to feel awkward and tugged at the left shoulder of her outfit, trying to put her left hand behind her back and hide it from the group.

SilverFlight Naberius explosiveKitten AncientBird Saturn_moon SleepyCreamy kase9187 Elenion Aura

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias​

Matthias hung back. He didn't want to crowd the man. When he had the chance, he approached.

"Good to see you are recovering." Matthias demured, then looked off, as if into the distance. "During the first Deathborn raid, in the caverns... You used your, ahem," Matthias cleared his throat. He wasn't sure if Ord's gifts were a secret to all of the Academy. "One of your many gifts." Matthias', eyes twinkled, remembering the very words Ord had used all that time ago.


Matthias wrestled into his new clothes. They fit. Surprising. He hadn't expected to find anything big enough. Nothing with sleeves did. The cowl was lighter than what he was used to. And the tunic's neckline plunged farther than was strictly comfortable. And, do not get him started on the tassles. He felt... ridiculous. But at least he wasn't sweltering any longer in his Northarian garb.

Zeke was causing trouble again. Matthias grunted but otherwise ignored it. They were outside again, and Matthias was once more grateful for his new outfit. The thought of him in his furs under this sun was enough to make sweat bead his brow. Matthias' attention snapped to the man before them, the same from the night prior. He was some kind of official here, as well as a leader in the city's guard. A man of action.

"Have there been many Deathborn attacks here? How are the city's defenses?" Will it hold out long enough for them to complete their bitter work? In his haste to ask, Matthias neglected to offer his name.

Spoiler: Matthias' outfit

Tags: Lioness075 SleepyCreamy AncientBird kase9187 Saturn_moon Naberius YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten SilverFlight
​

 

[SleepyCreamy]

Zeke watched as Marylka excused herself out of his presence and he remained calm as he tried to process what she just said. It was moments like these Zeke had to be reminded that he must also take account of human emotions. As Marylka spoke about receiving proper words or encouragement, Zeke felt his own eyebrows raise at this. He thought Marylka wanted his honest opinion and not some lousy, ‘yes, what lovely clothing you have!’ It simply didn’t provide any context and since he considered Marylka as one of the intelligent among them, he figured she’d understand his reasoning… But apparently, he and Marylka are far different than he’d expected. Zeke felt disheartened at her reaction as he was firmly keeping his head up high even though his fist could show a little tremble in them. Would he actually be capable of seeing past any of his methodical thinking and finally let his emotions drive him even for once?

And just then, Gerel came into the picture and he couldn’t help but frown as he watched Gerel make his way towards him. It would probably best if Zeke were to just keep his mouth shut in the time being as he has done enough damage to his reputation. Zeke had to remain calm as Gerel spoke, especially when he mentioned the times he had run away in the past. It was as if he was challenging him and Zeke being the competitive twat that he is, foolishly agreed to stay with the group as long as he can. He’ll just see how long the group will last before one of them gets lost or until someone might need help in navigating the bustling city of To’Bai.

Caliban also came into the picture soon, before the awkward silence between Zeke and Gerel could continue. Caliban gave Zeke a smile, before reminding him about their conversation last night. Zeke could only sigh and nod as he moved his hands to his hips and tiredly tilted his head back. He just wanted the whole day to be over and done with so that he could finally see his mother, but he also has a promise to keep. He made a mental note to apologize to Marylka later on. This made Zeke scratch his head as he seemed to have forgotten the very thing he promised himself to do. "I'll be fine." That was all he said, before walking away from the two of them.

Just… Lower your pride down Zeke. He thought to himself, however, a new voice started to arise within his eardrums as the voice held the same alluring voice as his mother, but this voice was far different. It was feminine… But it held no gentleness… it was only dripping with malicious intent.

They’re better off without you.

As that was happening in Zeke’s mind, the group seemed to move forward and Zeke had to shake his head to get the disgusting voice out of his head.

“Not again…” He muttered to himself as Stitt comforted him by headbutting his chin, reminding him to keep his head up high.

SilverFlight Naberius Saturn_moon YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka shut her eyes and turned her face up to the sky letting the sun's rays beat down on her face as she tried to get a grip on the emotions swirling within her. It was only when she heard the soft rustle of feathers next to her that she became aware that she was no longer alone. "Talon?" She looked down at Gerel's eagle who was now nuzzling against her leg. Before today, she'd hardly ever interacted with the creature. She didn't even think Talon concerned himself much with her. She squat down and carefully reached out to stroke his feathers. "You're a perceptive one, aren't you?"

Talon then let out a gentle squawk alerting her to the presence of another. Somehow, she wasn't surprise to see Serik standing to the side looking a little sheepish. "You don't have to worry about me... I'm alright now." She said softly to Serik as Talon took off into the sky with a loud screech. She was mildly confused by the creature's sudden change in behavior but thought nothing much about it. Probably off to hunt for his next meal. "Although I'm sorry you had to walk in on... whatever that mess was."

Kari was the next one to come check on her. By now, Marylka was feeling thoroughly embarrassed by the scene she had caused. "Don't worry about that ass. He's got a long way to go, but you don't have to cater to him." Marylka smiled appreciatively at the girl. Kari had comforted her more than a few times throughout their journey and she was extremely grateful for that. She was used to being the older sibling and that meant she was usually the one doing the comforting. Kari was the closest she'd gotten to having a female friend who she could possibly talk to about things that she might not necessarily have felt too comfortable discussing even with her grandfather.

As the rest of the group emerged from the store, she caught sight of Zeke trailing at the back and instantly dropped her gaze to the floor. The situation still felt too raw for her to want to address it at the moment even if she had already calmed down. They were about to head off when a voice stopped them in their tracks. She turned to find that it belonged to the man who they'd met outside Headmaster Candour's office the night before. The one who had spoken of enlisting young academy mages to fight in the war against the deathborns. It unsettled her that Deralis would even think of suggesting such a thing but she chose to withhold any assumptions. Jumping to conclusions wasn't the most practical thing to do, especially when they were talking to the captain of the city guards. Anyway, who was she to judge when she had no idea what had been happening over the past year.

SilverFlight Naberius SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird Lioness075

 

[AncientBird]

As Serik stood there with Marylka, Talon approached from the sky. Serik was surprised to see her appearing right in front of them. The eagle hadn't interacted with either of them much, but she seemed to notice Marylka's emotion. Serik watched as the eagle and the girl interacted. It was quite an... adorable sight to see, it made him smiled.

Marylka then turned toward him. "You don't have to worry about me... I'm alright now." She said. "Although I'm sorry you had to walk in on... whatever that mess was."

Serik smiled at her. "I'm glad you are so. Ezekiel probably meant no harm about whatever he said to you, but you know... He wasn't the best at choosing his word carefully. So, don't take any of that so seriously." He said to the girl.

Then Kari arrived, probably had enough with Ezekiel, judging from her face. However, she still had enough joy to try to cheer Marylka up. "Don't worry about that ass. He's got a long way to go, but you don't have to cater to him." Said Kari before she invited them both to regroup as the band was heading out to explore. "Let's get going, you don't want to miss all the good stuff out there, do you?" Serik said to Marylka as he led her back to the group.

Just before the group could enjoy the bazaar though, they walked right into the man from yesterday, who was in the headmaster's office, having an argument with Headmaster Candour. The man introduced himself as Heto Deralis, the captain of the guard of To'bai. Serik didn't expect this man to greet them but then he remembered this man was also talking about recruiting young mages from the academy to fight the deathborns. Perhaps he would be interested in a group of youths that Candour paid a lot of attention to as well. Serik listened silently at the back of the group as the captain of the guard started talking with his teammates, seemingly curious about their appearance at the academy.

Featuring: SilverFlight Naberius SleepyCreamy YumenoTsukishiro explosiveKitten kase9187 Elenion Aura Saturn_moon Lioness075

 

[Naberius]

Caliban Lupei

Caliban found Katja's reaction to his words slightly strange. She had turned bright red again, like before back on Arebos and he was a little worried she might be getting sick or something. He hoped she would be okay, he didn't like the idea of her being ill...The thought made him feel strangely protective and he couldn't quite tell why, other than he considered her a friend...

"My eyes..?"
He never really thought about it before, but he did have blue eyes, almost the same shade of blue as the clothes he wore. The thought made him smile. But what made it even brighter was the thought immediately afterwards.

Her favorite color..?

explosiveKitten

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

After everyone had begun filling out of the store, clad in their new attire, he was all smiles and good cheer, even more so than usual for him. He walked along with everyone else, unable to fully contain the excitement he had for getting to explore a new city. At one point, he clapped a reassuring hand on Zeke's shoulder, nodding at his friend, trying to convey his support without truly saying anything.

Their first taste of real peace and freedom since waking up in that tent, however, was suddenly disrupted by the appearance of the man they had seen exiting the headmasters office the previous day. Deralis. He didn't quite know what to make of the man just yet, but he did know that the idea of asking for children to fight was not a positive point in his favor. However, if the defenses of Westeros were truly that taxed, it would make sense to seek out those being taught to use magic. This did not make it morally right, but it did make logical sense. He chose to remain quiet for the time being, not answering the mans questions right away. There were many things he still needed to know before he could actually trust a man willing to ask a school to let the children assembled within its walls fight in what was essentially a war with undead monsters.


SilverFlight SleepyCreamy kase9187 Elenion Aura AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro Lioness075 Saturn_moon